In the field of active safety of a motor vehicle, contemporary driver assistance systems are already able to perform driving tasks of the driver of a motor vehicle and to carry out partially automated driving functions. This is manifest in the examples of adaptive cruise control or lane assist or lane keeping assistant to lateral guidance assistance (lane assist or heading control).
However, these driving assistance systems have virtually no provision in their configuration for partial or total failure of the driver of the motor vehicle. Such failure of the driver to carry out the driving functions for which he is responsible can be caused, for example, by excessive fatigue or a suddenly occurring health problem of the driver. Excessive fatigue often brings about momentary nodding off and an associated brief loss of control of the vehicle. Health problems mean physical incapacity of the driver to drive the vehicle and can be, for example, a sudden heart attack. Such situations often lead to serious accidents, in particular if the vehicle is moving at a high speed on a freeway or a road similar to a freeway.
Illustrative embodiments provide a method and a device wherein a vehicle travelling at high speed without an activated lateral assistance is transferred into a driving state with a reduced risk of consequences of collision, without a complex sensor system, when it is assumed that the driver is experiencing an emergency.